Conscription, Draft, Selective Service Records
The law regarding Selective Service- Present Day (2021)
According to law, a man must register with Selective Service within 30 days of his 18th birthday. Selective Service accepts late registrations up until a man reaches his 26th birthday.
Failure to register is a felony and non-registrants may be denied the following benefits for life:
- Federal (and some state) student loans and grant programs
- Federal job training under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (formerly Workforce Investment Act)
- Federal (and many state and local) jobs
- Up to a 5-year delay of U.S. citizenship proceedings for immigrants
https://www.sss.gov/register/men-26-and-older/
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (2021)
Serving as a Volunteer Member of a Local Selective Service Board Member
About Selective Service System
Location:
1515 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22209, US
Mission Statement
To furnish manpower to the Defense Department during a national emergency, to manage alternative service for men classified as conscientious objectors, and to register, with only a few exceptions, all male U.S. citizens and male immigrants residing in the United States who are ages 18 through 25
Description
A citizen can be a volunteer to be a Local Board Member for the Selective Service System (SSS). SSS Local Board Members are part of a group of citizen volunteers whose mission, upon a draft, will be to decide who among the registrants in their community will receive deferments, postponements, or exemptions from military service based on the individual registrant’s circumstances and beliefs.
Statistics By War 1917-1973
https://www.sss.gov/history-and-records/induction-statistics/
Military Obligation: Book Digitized on Family Search
Draft or Conscription Records
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Military_Draft_or_Conscription_Records
Congress passed the first military conscription act in 1863 during the Civil War, allowing President Abraham Lincoln to draft men between the ages of 20 – 45.
Our nation’s second military draft law, the Selective Service Act, went into effect in 1917 and gave President Woodrow Wilson the authority to conscript men for World War I.
In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, creating the country’s first peacetime draft and officially establishing the Selective Service System.
The draft continued from 1948, during both peacetime and war, to 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation officially ending the draft.
The Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Selective Service System remains in place today.
Draft Records by Conflict
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Military_Draft_or_Conscription_Records
- Civil War, 1861 to 1865
- World War I, 1917 to 1918
- World War II, 1941 to 1945
- Korean War 1950 to 1953
- Vietnam War 1964 to 1972
Genealogical Significance of WWI Draft Cards https://www.archives.gov/files/calendar/genealogy-fair/2014/handouts/session-6-presentation-handout-rhone.pdf
Registration of WWI Draft:
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_World_War_I_Draft_Records
Registration Dates of WWII Drafts
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_World_War_II_Draft_Records
Barnettes and Draft Registrations
1884 Born Tuskegee, Macon Co, AL-John Winston BarnettJr
1884 Born Tuskeegee, Macon Co, AL-William Claude Barnett
1891 Born Atlanta, GA Hugh Gilbert Marshall Barnette
1896 Born Lawrenceville, Gwinnett Co, GA-Samuel Inman Martin Barnett
1900 Census Atlanta, GA
1908 Born Lawrenceville, Gwinnett Co, GA-Frederick Wilhelm Barnette
1910 Census Lawrenceville, Gwinnett Co, GA-Hugh not in fathers household- Possible he was in Richmond Co, NC as a carpenter?
1913 Marriage Atlanta Ga- Hugh to Hilda Finch
1918 Draft Records-WWI-John Winston Jr Listed as John Willis B-Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co, PA- Gave mother, Mrs J W Barnett, Atlanta GA as contact
1918 Draft Records-WWI-William Claude -Leighton, Colbert Co, AL
1918 Draft Records-WWI-Hugh Gilbert Marshall-316 Oak St Atlanta,GA-Age 26 Loading Clerk Southern Railway Atlanta, GA-Married 2 children under 12
1918 Draft Records-WWI-Samuel Inman Martin-Served Eur-Cook Aero Supt Sq
1918 Draft Records-WWI-Frederick Wilhelm- Age 10
1920 Census-Atlanta, GA Hugh 142 Ormond Street-House Painter Age 29
1923 Birth (Jan) Ralph Winston-Marshall, Harrison Co, TX Hugh Occupation Railway Department
1925 Birth (May) Millard -Marshall, Harrison Co, TX-no birth Certificate
1930 Census Hugh 107 Washington Circle, Washington DC-Age 38 Painter
1935 Census (of 1940) Lived Same Place (not same house as 1940-Washington)
1940 Census-38 R St NW Painter US Govt
1940 WWII Draft-Hugh Gilbert Age 51 Men Born 1877-1897 Serial #U 772 Order # —-38 R St NW Phone Adams 5080 Empl Federal Works Agency US Civil Service
1940 WWII Draft-Hugh Jr Age 25 Men born Feb 17, 1897-Dec 21, 1921 Serial # T 285 Order # T/2080 #21 at top Right Corner 38 R St Washington
1940 WWII Draft -Millard Age 18 Men Born After July 1, 1924 Before Dec 31 1924 Also Men turning 18 On or After Jan 1, 1943 Serial #W209 Order # 13182 38 R St Washington-Date of Registration May 31, 1943
1943 Enlisted Millard 19 July 1943
1940 WWII Draft J W Age 58 Men Born 1877-1897 Wheeling, Ohio Co, WV Serial # U 907 Order #—
1940 WWII Draft- Frederick William/Wilhelm Young Men 1940-1947 2528 11th St NW Washington, Age 32 Contact Person-Wm Claude- Brother residing at 2528 11th St Wash. Temp Employed at Garfield Hospital
1941 Enlisted Frederick Richmond VA 21 April 1941
1940 WWII Draft William Claude Age 58 Men Born 1877-1897 Serial # U 2289 Order #–